Metal-containing catalysts have been described in bleach compositions, including manganese-containing catalysts such as those described in EP 549,271; EP 549,272; EP 458,397; U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,594; U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,621; EP 458,398; U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,416; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,611. These bleach catalysts are described as being active for catalyzing the bleaching action of peroxy compounds against various stains. Several of these bleaching systems are said to be effective for use in washing and bleaching of substrates, including laundry and hard surfaces (such as machine dishwashing, general cleaning) and in the textile, paper and wood pulp industries.
It has been discovered that these metal-containing bleach catalysts, especially the manganese-containing catalysts, have the particularly undesirable property, when used with textiles, of damaging the fabric resulting in loss of tensile strength of the fibers and/or producing color damage to the fabric. Obviously, such properties for compositions is a great drawback to the general use of these compositions in the laundry area. Further, such catalysts raise compatibility concerns for such bleach systems that include certain typical laundry ingredients such as perfumes, brighteners, and enzymes.
It has now been surprisingly discovered that inclusion of free radical scavenging antioxidants into laundry compositions comprising metal-containing bleach catalysts reduces the fabric damage resulting from these catalysts in the laundry process, without stopping the catalytic activity of the metal catalyst. It is a further goal of this invention to provide stable compositions containing ingredients otherwise incompatible with the metal catalyst.
These and other objects are secured herein, as will be seen from the following disclosures.